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credentials, the Governor proposes a radical enlargement of
the scope of these constituencies, to give an electorate of 2.5 million, ie virtually all "economically active" residents. The Chinese are likely to see this as a trick, a gross distortion of the existing system; they may say that the new
or enlarged constituencies are not functional constituencies
within the meaning of the Basic Law. But the Governor and Mr
Goodlad have weighed up this risk and believe it right to take
it.
(c) Election Committee. The Basic Law provides for 10 LegCo
members to be elected by "an election committee". It does not
define this committee, though it broadly defines the
composition of the Election Committee for the 1999 elections
and for the choice of Chief Executive in 2002 (800 members,
drawn from functional groups) and that of the Selection
Committee which will be set up in 1996 to choose the first
Chief Executive in 1997 and set up the SAR Government (400 members, on the same lines as the 1999 Election Committee). For the 1995 election committee officials in Hong Kong had
drafted a model on the lines of the Basic Law models and
relying mainly on the functional constituencies to elect committee members: this looked a pretty respectable option and one which, even if we proved unable to secure Chinese
agreement to every detail, might set helpful precedents for the crucial 1997 and 1999 Committees. However the Governor
and Mr Goodlad have concluded that in 1995 it is better to go for a broader-based election committee, consisting of the
elected members of District Boards: this will help show that democracy can be enhanced even if only 20 of the 60 LegCo
members are directly elected.
It is also worth noting likely Chinese opposition to the
Governor's choice of voting-system in the direct elections:
first past the post in single-seat constituencies, as LegCo
5.
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covering SECRET